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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. A. HUMBLE. AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR GATE.

No. 310,135. PatentedDed 30, 1884.

3 lllllI llPHH Per (No Model.) I A. A. HUMBLE'i 2 Sheets-$neet 2.

AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR GATE. No. 310,135. Patented Dec. 30, 1884.

fer aridzejl 'FZ8ither,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT A. HUMBLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO IV. HOWARD ALDRICH, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,135, dated December 30, 1884.

Application filed October 27, 1884.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. HUMBLE, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Elevator- Gates, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the entrance to an elevator-shaft, showing said gate in its lowest position. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing a portion of an elevator having its floor on a level with that of the building while the gate is raised. Fig. 8 is a like view of the opposite side of said elevator-shaft, showing the corner post and gate, with a counter-balance for the latter. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the fioor of said elevator, together with that of the building, the corner post of the shaft, and said gate, with the mechanism for operating it. Fig. 5 is an enlarged upright side view of said corner post with said operating mechanism, and Fig. 6 is a front view of the same.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the different figures.

The object of my invention is to provide a device which may, with slight modification, be applied to and used in connection with the various kinds of passenger and freight elevators, whereby a gate or door maybe auto matically raised and lowered by the movement of said elevator, so that access may be had to the elevator at any given floor, while the shaft at the other floors is properly protected. I accomplish saidobject by rigidly securing to the frame of the elevator near the guide-bar a vertical projecting cleat or flange of nearly the length of said elevator, and having its upper and lower ends tapered or rounded inwardly, said cleat or bar being adapted to engage with friction-rollers placed above and below each of the floors,'one of said rollers having a bearing upon a shaft, with a sprocketwheel rigidly attached thereto, and the other having its bearing upon a wrist-pin or shaft, and connected by intermediate gearing to a sec- (No model.)

ondary sprocket-wheel, said sprocket-wheels being connected by 'a drive-chain, so that an engagement of said cleat or bar with either of said rollers will revolve the other. To the top roller upon each story is secured a shaft extending across in front of the elevator-well, having sprocket-wheels at or near either end. A drive-chain having one end attached to said gate is trained over said wheel, and is provided with a weight at its opposite end to act asa counterpoise, so that said gate may be balanced and sustained at any desired point. The gearing mentioned reverses the motion of said chain connecting the frictionrollers, so that the gate at a given floor will always be raised as the elevator approaches from a floor either above or below, and lowered'as it leaves said floor in either direc tion, all of which will be hereinafter more fully described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A A represent the corner posts or frame of the elevator shaft or well,

while B B are the floors of the building, and

B the elevator-floor.

0, Figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6, indicates one of the posts of the main frame of the elevator, to which are secured the usual guide-cleats, 00, Fig. 4, on either side of the guide-rail a, Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Rigidly secured to said post C by iron straps d, or in any convenient way, is a bar, D, preferably made of wood, and provided with a facing, d, of leather or rubber. Thelength of said bar should be the distance in height which it is required to raise said gate, and should hear about the same proportion to the height of the elevator, as shown "in Fig. 2. Said bar D at or near its upper and lower ends is rounded or tapered, as shown at d (P, for the purpose hereinafter shown. Somewhat above the floor B, and about the same distance below the floor B, (the latter distance varying according to the height of the ceiling,) I secure by bolts 0 c to the corner post, A, suitable plates, E to each of which is pivotally fastened,by means of the bolts f f,brackets or arms F F, respectively, to the first of which are rigidly attached by nuts f f, Figs. 5 and 6,

short shafts or wrist-pins f f the first of which, f forms a bearing for a friction-roller, G, and gear-wheel 9, so secured to each other as to revolve in unison, while the pin f forms a bearing for a similar gear-wheel, g, and sprocket-wheel G. The upper bracket, F, forms a bearing for one end of a horizontal shaft, H, (better shown in Fig. 1,) while the opposite end of said shaft is secured in a suitable bearing upon the post A. The shaft His provided with a fri ction-roll er, I, and sprocketwheels J J, (said wheel J being shown in Fig. 3,) each of which is keyed to said shaft and revolves therewith. The friction-wheels G and I, which are preferably provided with bands of rubber or leather, are so adjusted as to engage with the bar D as the elevator passes up and down, and in view of the lat eral movement of said elevator it is necessary that said rollers should have some play in order to be brought into continuous contact therewith. This is accomplished by the pivoting of said brackets F F at ff, as shown, in conjunction with springs K K, Figs. 2, 5, and 6, the former of which presses against a projecting end of the wrist-pin J, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, while the latter presses in like man ner against a projecting end of the shaft II. The sprocket-wheels G J are connected with each other by means of a drive-chain, L, and thus caused to revolve in unison. A like drive-chain, L, Fig. 3, is trained over the sprocketwhecl J, one end of which is secured to the bottom of a gate or door, M, at m, while the other is provided with a weight, M, which acts as a counterpoise to said gate. The opposite side of said gateis secured in like manner to the drive-chain L, and is loosely held in place by guides or cleats m m. 3y this means the gate is so balanced as to remain in the place at which it may be when the bar D has ceased to engage either of the friction rollers G or I. As the gears g l/ are interposed between the friction-roller G and the sprocket-wheel G, it is obvious that a reverse movement of the latter will be caused by the engagement of the bar D with said former wheel, from which it will be seen by reference to Fig 2 that when the elevator is in the position there shown and the gate M is raised a movement of said elevator either up or down will cause said gate to be lowered, while, upon the other hand, the approach of said elevator either from below the floor B or from above the floor B will cause said gate to be raised, as shown in said Fig. 8. As the gate is counterpoised, the power required to actuate it is but Slight; and said power being applied by friction alone, it is obvious that a stoppage of said gate from any cause cannot break or injure the machinery; but the bar D will slip upon either of the rollers with which it is brought in contact, and thus avoid such i11- jury.

Rollers G I, with the other requisite mechanism, may be placed upon the post A in each story of a building, and actuated in their ordcr by the bar D as the elevator is moved up and down. In the drawings said bar is shown asattached to one corner of the elevator, and the guide-bar a is upon the corner post, A; but, with such slight modifications as would suggest themselves to any mechanic skilled in the art, said device may be applied to elevators having guide-posts upon either side, instead of at the corners, without varying from the essential principles of my invent-ion; henceI do not confine myself to the style of elevator shown.

Instead of pivoting the brackets F F, as

described, and connecting the springs K K therewith, said brackets may be rigidly secured to said post A, and springs may be,

placed behind the bar D to press the same against said rollers, sufficient play being permitted in the connecting-straps cl, or their equivalents, to allow for such movement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An automatic elevator-gate consisting of friction-rollers secured to the guide-posts of the elevator-well near the respective floors of each story, a sprocket-wheel connected with one of said rollers,and a like wheel connected with the other by intermediate gears, a drivechain trained over said wheels and connected with the gate, means for counterpoising the latter, and a suitable bar arranged lengthwise of said elevator, whereby said friction-wheels may be temporarily revolved by Contact With said bar as the elevator is moved up and down, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with a counterpoised elevator-gate, of friction-rollers permanently attached to the frame-work of the well, a bar with tapered ends attached to said elevator to engage said rollers, sprocket-wheels connected by a drive-chain to actuate said rollers, intermediate gears between one of said rollers and one of said sprocket-wheels for reversing the motion of the latter, and means for holding said rollers, respectively, in frietional contact with said bar during the passage of the elevator, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In an automatic elevator-gate, the friction-rollers G I, secured to the pivoted or swinging brackets F F, sprocket-wheels G J", intermediate gears, g g, springs K K, chain L, and bar D, attached to the elevatorframe, substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, with an elevator and elevator-shaft, of a gate loosely secured in vertical guides, and suspended by driveehain's L L, trained over sprocket-wheels keyed to a shaft, H, weight M, sprocketwheel G, geared to a friction-roller, G, frietion-wheel I, and bar D, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

5. The combination, with an elevator and her facing, cl, and said friction-rollers being; elevator-shaft, of a connterpoised gate loosely I provided with rubber bands, substantially as 10 secured in vertical guides, endless chain L, i described. trained over s orocket-wheels u on the uidepost, one of which xevolves in unison ivith a I ALBERT HUMBLE friction-roller, I, and the other of which is geared to a like roller, G, and bar D, attached to said elevator, said bar having a rubl Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, M. M. GRIDLEY. 

